In the prior art, it is known to use surgical saw blades in conjunction with a blade oscillating tool to remove tissue, cartilage and/or bone.
In knee surgery, saw blades are used in conjunction with slotted jigs which may be fixed to a femur and act as a blade guide. Typically, prior art saw blades include a plurality of teeth which are cant or set in an angled configuration. This type of surgical blade is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B and is generally designated by the reference numeral 10. The surgical blade 10 is seen to include a cutting edge 1 and a blade body 2. The cutting edge comprises a series of alternating teeth 3 and 5, respectively. As can be seen from the side view, the teeth 3 are angled with respect to the blade surface 4 with the teeth 5 having a reversed cant or set as compared to the teeth 3.
These types of saw blades are disadvantageous in that the cutting edge 1 of the blade is 30 to 40% thicker than the blade body itself. This thicker cutting edge requires a wider slot in a surgical jig to permit insertion of the blade therethrough for contact with the tissue or bone to be cut. As a result of the wider slot, play exists between the slot faces and the blade body which can result in unwanted variances in cutting of tissue and/or bone.
The thicker cutting edge also contributes to increased bone loss which interferes with delicate cutting operations. These types of prior art blades also have a tendency to build up heat which causes thermal necrosis. The heat build up also contributes to wear and tear on the handpiece oscillating the blade as well as premature dulling of the blade edges.
In response to these deficiencies in prior art blade designs, a need has developed to provide a surgical saw blade which minimizes thermal necrosis, provides a cleaner and faster cut and further provides a more durable cutting edge giving longer useful blade life.
In response to this need, the present invention provides an improved surgical saw cutting blade overcoming the above-mentioned deficiencies.